Hidden Empire – Kevin J. Anderson

From Library Journal: An experiment in converting a gas giant into a star with the potential for transforming the former planet’s moons into environments suitable for human colonies awakens a heretofore hidden civilization and plunges the galaxy into a war for the survival of humanity. The latest novel by the author of Star Wars: Darksaber…

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American Gods – Niel Gaiman

Publishers Weekly: Titans clash, but with more fuss than fury in this fantasy demi-epic from the author of Neverwhere. The intriguing premise of Gaiman’s tale is that the gods of European yore, who came to North America with their immigrant believers, are squaring off for a rumble with new indigenous deities: “gods of credit card…

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Wings of Wrath – C.S. Friedman

Publishers Weekly Overview: Friedman delivers a rushed second installment of the Magister Trilogy (after 2008’sFeast of Souls), set in a casually grim world where cloak-and-dagger political intrigue is necessary for survival. Kamala, witch turned immortal Magister, flees north to the barrier called the Wrath of the Gods in a desperate attempt to uncover the truth…

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Feast of Souls – C.S. Friedman

About the book by Publisher’s Weekly: In this imaginative, deftly plotted fantasy from Friedman (The Wilding), the first of a new trilogy, a female witch’s magic comes at a terrible cost: her own finite life force, which drains away with each spell. Nearly immortal male Magisters, on the other hand, tap a more murderous fuel…

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What it takes to write Epic Fantasy

I am a big fan of goodreads.com. The website is a fantastic resource for individuals who are total bibliophiles. There are tons of reading groups, fantastic book reviews, and tons of authors. It’s kind of like the Facebook for readers. Anyway, this one book group I’m a member of has an author each month come…

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The Curse of Chalion – Lois McMaster Bujold

I should start this review by saying that I believe this was an ill fated expedition from the start. There are a few reasons for this. First, I rarely, if ever, read YA books. Not because they aren’t good but because they generally are not gritty enough, or have enough depth to keep me interested….

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Red Seas Under Red Skies – Scott Lynch

Red Seas under Red Skies is the second book in Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series (the first of which I reviewed a while ago called The Lies of Locke Lamora). This book is set in a different location with different adventures but still follows the main characters Locke and Jean while they try to rip…

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King’s Dragon – Kate Elliott

For what started out as a fairly standard entrence into an epic fantasy series, I was quickly surprised. The plot starts out with strife in the land. The king and his sister are battling over succession. Interspersed in this is the story of two main characters who each have hidden pasts that neither knows about…

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The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch

This has to be one of the best books I’ve read all year. Think mofia and thieves with some magic and a whole lot of trickery and you’ve got the basic premise for this stunning debut work by Lynch. Lynch has a natural talent for telling a tale and an incredible way of depicting reality….

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Empire in Black and Gold – Adrian Tchaikovsky

There is nothing incredibly unique about the plot of this book. There is a bad empire, and one man knows about them. No one will believe that man, so it’s a “one man against the world” type thing. He has his lovable sidekicks which start out ignorant and age throughout the novel because they endured…

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